Former standout Sandburg gymnast finds niche as coach

February 20, 2014|By Jeff Vorva, Special to the Tribune

Krystyn Misheck, right, shared some of her state championship knowledge with Sandburg athletes this season in her first year as an assistant coach at the Orland Park school. (Jeff Vorva, Special to the Tribune)

The Illinois High School Association State Gymnastics Meet gets rolling Friday and for the second year in a row, no Sandburg athletes will compete.

But that's not going to stop the Eagles' first-year assistant coach from stopping by for a while.

Krystyn Misheck plans on making the trip to Palatine for a look ahead and a look back.

Misheck is one of the best gymnasts to come from the Orland Park school. She owns all of the school records and in 2009 was the fourth gymnast in IHSA history to qualify for the finals in all four events at the state meet one year after sitting out with multiple injuries. She is the last area state champion as she claimed the floor exercise in 2009 with a 9.8 and Sandburg finished second in the state, less than a point away from beating Stevenson for a state title.

"I will definitely be there," Misheck said of the 2014 state meet. "I want to check out the competition and get some ideas for next year. And it will bring back some memories."

"It was very emotional my junior and senior years," she added. "Even just going to sectionals made me want to cry a little bit. I wish the girls could have experienced that this year. But hopefully not making it will be a motivation for next year.''

She participated in gymnastics for two years at Texas Woman's University and retired from competition. But she started coaching and found she enjoyed it.

"It's been great — I love it," she said. "I've been coaching for the last three years as a rec coach in Romeoville. I've worked at club gyms. The passion for the sport never dies. I have to continue with it somehow.''

Veteran Sandburg coach Mike White said hiring Misheck was one of the smartest moves he made as she is young enough to relate to the high school students and has an impressive resume to back her up. He said it won't be long before she lands a head coaching job somewhere. White added that Misheck learned patience this year as the talent level of this group is not on par with the talent level of the 2009 squad.

"They need to be taught a little bit more, and that's what I am trying to do," Misheck said. "There is a lot more to this sport than just the skills. I want them to be able to understand that and hopefully they can use what they learned later in life.''

She said she doesn't have one particular demeanor. It could change from day to day.

"It depends on my moods," Misheck said. "Sometimes I will be a yeller. Sometimes I'll kind of let them work on their own. I don't have to give them a correction at every turn. They can figure it out on their own. I have a pretty even balance between the yelling and the caring, loving type.''